sytycd x hi - take two

the new season of so you think you can dance is in full swing and for the second year in a row hawaii is well represented with kailua dancer kuponohi'iwoi aweau. last night the kamehameha alum and his partner ashley performed a delightfully quirky choreography featuring two dancing crash test dummies.

yes, crash test dummies. gotta love wade robson.

we'll find out tonight if the islands lit up enough phone lines to keep kupono in for another round.

p.s. click over to the star-bulletin which reveals kupono's connection to season 4 favorite mark kanemura.

and the winner is . . .

katherine of houston who will be adding the lovely naupaka to her bookshelf soon!

many mahalos to all who entered . . . it seems caren's lovely block prints have found fans from all over. you can scoop up a copy of naupaka at island bookshops and online at amazon.

congratulations, katherine!

p.s. clf's gorgeous artwork can be found in her etsy shop.

{mahalo caren!}

naupaka book giveaway

big island artist caren loebel-fried kindly sent along a review copy of her new book, naupaka, penned by the late aunty nona beamer and i finally had a chance sit down and savor page after beautiful page.

it's a beautiful retelling of a hawaiian folk story describing why the naupaka flower blooms in perfect halves despite different growing conditions down by the sea and up in the mountains. the illustrations are gorgeous bringing old hawaii to life with the technicolor beauty of caren's block prints which complement the
bittersweet tale of two star-crossed lovers from opposite sides of the ahupua'a kept apart by their different ranks in life.

one lucky reader has a chance to score a copy for storytime and introduce her/his little one(s) to the world of hawaiian mythology. the book is told in both english and hawaiian and includes an audio cd narrated by aunty nona with music by her son, keola beamer.

here's the scoop on how to enter:

• email your name & current hometown to: aloha [at] hapahale [dot] com by thu, mar 26th
• please put naupaka giveaway in the subject
• one entry per person/household

click back on friday to find out if you are the lucky winner.

{update: winner list posted}

p.s. email subscribers - simply hit reply and follow the instructions above for a chance to win.

hawaiian hotel gets rock'd

. . . hawaiian hotel . . .

with tourism in a slump, one can only suspect the peeps over at the hvcb are none too pleased about an snl skit featuring the rock, er, dwayne johnson who offered up quite the giggle this weekend.

definitely for locals only.

and the winners are . . .

maria of honolulu who will be paging through the maui book of lavender and maile of mililani who will find a delightful lavender-infused surprise in her mailbox soon.

mahalo to all who entered! click over to watermark publishing's online shop to order a copy of your own and save 30% when you enter secret code hapahale at checkout!

p.s. you can meet ali'i kula lavender owner ali'i chang during a mini book tour around oahu at the end of the month.